Wednesday, May 11, 2005

I dream a world

In a big city, if your car is parked in a tow-away zone, it gets towed to an impoundment lot. The city subcontracts the impoundment lot operation to shady, underworld types who only accept cash, and after just a couple of days, their outrageous "storage fees" mount to a low three-figure sum. So carrying an improbably large wad of cash, you wander into the remote, desolate, ominous part of town where impoundment lots are invariably located. As you hand over the cash to the shadowy figure behind the cracked plexiglass barrier, you think there's a non-negligible chance that they'll keep the cash and sell off your car and your body for spare parts to appropriate chops shops ...

___________________________________________________________

Wouldn't it be great to live in a city where they didn't tow your car to an impoundment lot?

____________________________________________________________

Yesterday, I took the bus to work, having parked my car here:

I realized that at 4 p.m., this great parking space would morph into a hateful tow away zone, but I planned to return from work well before four. But a little voice said, "Well, no, actually, you're going to forget about the 4 p.m. tow-away thing."

One thing led to another at work. The little voice was right. In a cold sweat, I rushed back (if catching the bus home from work can be called "rushing"), but my car was gone. Towed!

My mind raced with depressed and panicked thoughts. When will I be able to get my car out of hock? It's already after business hours. I'm not going to be able to pick it up until Friday due to various plans and complications. What will the "storage fees" be by then? $200? $300? Will I have to go to city hall to pay off my ticket first? Will I be able to get it before I go away on my long trip? Oh, god...

Wouldn't it be great to live in a city where, instead of towing your car to an impoundment lot, they simply tow it out of the tow away zone, onto a friendly side street just a couple of blocks from your home?

Yes! As it happens, I live in that city. I found my car, parked peacefully on the street, three blocks closer to my house than where I had left it!

Under the circumstances, I felt quite relieved -- indeed, elated, -- to get out of it with only this:

[BTW, I'm sorry I kept you in my office chatting past 4. YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT THE REASON FOR THE HIGH LEVEL OF PERSPIRATION WAS NOT THE TEMP IN MY OFFICE BUT THE IDEA THAT, AS I TALKED, YOUR CAR WAS BEING HAULED TO MILWAUKEE OR SOMEWHERE!!]

Don't you risk being kicked out of your neighborhood for admitting that you drove from your house to the depicted bus stop? Not that I admit to knowing the non-pseudonymous-world location of either, of course...

There could be much, much worse run-ins with local law enforcement than getting one's car towed. Such as getting a letter in the mail on May 6th saying your driving priveleges have been suspended on April 7th.

And that getting said priveleges restored involves turning oneself in to the sherrif's office and going before a judge to explain that you are not, in fact, behind in your child support payments, but have paid 4 weeks in advance, and your petition to emancipate the child for which you are paying support will be heard in 2 weeks. And then taking reams of documents to the motor vehicle agency that is 35 miles from the house because the motor vehicle agency that is 3 miles from the house doesn't handle these things.

How Ya doing Hope your having a good day. Your blog is most interesting. I was looking for bad dreams related stuff when i came across it. thanks for the read. I have a site that may interest you come and visit sometime, bad dreamsthanks again.